The Cherry Ames Page: Cherry Ames in Great Britain

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Cherry Ames in Great Britain

Cherry shook the others. "Ann and Gwen! Elsie! Wake up, all of you! We're in England."

--From Cherry Ames, Flight Nurse, p. 32

Cherry Ames's British publisher, World Distributors, published at least the first twenty-six volumes of the Helen Wells and Julie Tatham series, as well as the supplementary first aid book, beginning in the 1950s. Later, World issued three books under the Redwing imprint. World also published the seven Cherry Ames Girls Annuals, each featuring two new Cherry Ames stories.

For the World editions (which were also distributed in Canada and Australia), the type was reset, and some spelling and punctuation were changed from the American style to the British style. With two exceptions, the dust jacket cover art and internal art remained the same as for the American editions, but the dust jacket flaps and backs are different.

The British editions of the books have a red binding, and the line art on the book cover features a drawing of Cherry that is different from the one that appeared on the American editions. Initially, the dust jackets on the British books featured a yellow spine for books 1 to at least 24, but the later editions feature dust jackets with green spines (looking very similar to the American green-spine pictorial cover editions).

The backs of the earlier dust jackets feature a picture of Cherry with the blurb "GIRLS! How would you like a nursing career? I can tell you that the excitement, romance and adventure make my career thrilling, and make my books thrilling, too," followed by:

Cherry Ames is the kind of girl most young girls would like to know. Charming, pretty and hardworking, she is the personification of every girl's ambition at one time or another to wear the crisp uniform of a nurse.
This series will appeal to every girl between the ages of 11 and 16.

As happened with most of the foreign editions, numbering and the publication order of the books was changed.

World Distributors Editions
Dates: 1956-66

Student Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1956. Cover illustration by Ralph Crosby Smith (as for the original U.S. edition).
Senior Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1956. Cover illustration by Ralph Crosby Smith (as for the original U.S. edition).
Flight Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1956. Cover illustration by Ralph Crosby Smith (as for the original U.S. edition).: The fact that this book has a British setting perhaps was a factor in its being among the first Cherry Ames books published in Great Britain.
Cruise Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1956. Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).
Chief Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1957.Cover illustration by Frank Vaughn (as for the revised U.S. edition).
Boarding School Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1957. Cover illustration by Frank Vaughn (as for the original U.S. edition).
Visiting Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1957. Cover illustration by Frank Vaughn (as for the original U.S. edition).
Mountaineer Nurse, by Julie Tatham, 1957. Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).
Clinic Nurse, by Julie Tatham, 1958. Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).
At Spencer, by Julie Tatham, 1958. Cover illustration by Frank Vaughn (as for the original U.S. edition).
Night Supervisor, by Julie Tatham, 1958. Cover illustration by Frank Vaughn (as for the original U.S. edition).
Private Duty Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1958. Cover illustration by "GB" (as for the original U.S. edition).: The British edition of Private Duty Nurse includes a frontispiece depicting Cherry backstage at a Scott Owens piano concert, although the American edition was published without a frontispiece.
Rest Home Nurse, by Julie Tatham (British publication date not indicated). Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).
Department Store Nurse, by Helen Wells (British publication date not indicated). Cover illustration by Frank Vaughn (as for the original U.S. edition).
Country Doctor's Nurse, by Julie Tatham, 1959. Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).
Dude Ranch Nurse, by Julie Tatham, 1959. Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).
At Hilton Hospital, by Helen Wells, 1959. Cover illustration by Frank Vaughn (as for the original U.S. edition).
Army Nurse, by Helen Wells (British publication date not indicated). Cover illustration by Frank Vaughn (as for the revised U.S. edition).
Camp Nurse, by Helen Wells (British publication date not indicated). Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).
Island Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1960. Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).
Rural Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1961.Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).
Soldiers' Nurse, by Helen Wells (British publication date not indicated). Cover illustration by ???.: Soldiers' Nurse is the retitled British version of Veterans' Nurse. It is the only one of the British editions to have a revised cover, though the artwork clearly echoes Ralph Crosby Smith's original cover. It also lacks the frontispiece that appeared in the original American edition.
Staff Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1964. Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).
Companion Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1964. Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).
Jungle Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1965. Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).
The Mystery in the Doctor's Office, by Helen Wells, 1966. Cover illustration by "Mayan"? (as for the original U.S. edition).
Cherry Ames' Book of First Aid and Home Nursing, by Helen Wells, 1959. Cover illustration by ??? (as for the original U.S. edition).: The last section of this book, dealing with how to discover if nursing is for you and how to take the first steps toward becoming a nurse, was completely redone for the British edition, reflecting the various differences between American and British training.

Later, three Cherry Ames books were also published by World Distributors in less expensive pictorial-cover formats, as Redwing Library editions, with revised cover art.

Redwing Library Editions
Date: 1973

Student Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1973. Cover art by ???.
Senior Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1973. Cover art by ???.
Flight Nurse, by Helen Wells, 1973. Cover art by ???.

In conjunction with the Cherry Ames series, World Distributors also published the Cherry Ames Girls Annuals. These are heavily illustrated anthologies of fiction and nonfiction, each including two stories featuring Cherry Ames, as well as other stories (mostly mysteries) starring women and girls. In an oversized format, the books have attractive full-color glossy covers and color frontispieces--but several of the volumes inexplicably depict Nurse Cherry with bright blue eyes! (Each title is discussed more fully in its own separate section.)

Cherry Ames Girls Annuals
Dates: 1958-64